What Is Wrong With My Salad?

[ynot]

I have been gluten free nearly 5 months now. I never had the constant GI pain many do, but in the past two weeks I've had a few bad days. Stomach pain, bloating, a little gas and D. Twice, these episodes occurred within an hour of eating a salad. I'm convinced something in the salad is the problem since it was the first thing I ate for the day. Here are the ingredients:

Greens ( from Costco in the rectangular tub )

Sweet Peppers ( again from costco )

Tomatoes

Chicken ( gluten free rotisserie from costco)

Garlic Powder, Chopped onion, Black Pepper ( all are Kirkland dried spices )

Kirkland Olive oil

Trader Joe's Balsamic Vinegar

Canned Sardines ( from Trader Joe's )

This salad has been a common lunch for me since I went gluten free, and it seems I'm only now having problems. Any ideas?

And Yes. The sardines are a little gross, but mashed up in a salad I hardly know they are there, and they are supposed to be so good for you. Omega 3's, Calcium, B12....

[GlutenFreeManna]

Are you still using the same cutting boards you used prior to going gluten free? It might be time to get some new ones. Perhaps the CC finally caught up with you. The only other thing I would suspect is the balsamic vinegar. Is it labeled gluten free? If it is, does it have caramel color? Most caramel color is gluten free, but some people have trouble with caramel color. Another thing to consider is that perhaps eating a salad every day is too hard on your digestive system right now. I can't eat a lot of raw veggies or I get stomach cramping, gas and bloating. Try cutting back to every other day or only twice a week and see if your symptoms ease.

[ravenwoodglass]

Greens ( from Costco in the rectangular tub )

Sweet Peppers ( again from costco )

Tomatoes

Chicken ( gluten free rotisserie from costco)

Garlic Powder, Chopped onion, Black Pepper ( all are Kirkland dried spices )

Kirkland Olive oil

Trader Joe's Balsamic Vinegar

Canned Sardines ( from Trader Joe's )

I would drop one thing at a time from the salad for a week starting with

1. Chicken (I think that may be the most suspect for CC)

2. The vinegar

3. Dried spices one at a time

4. The sardines (are they packed in soy oil, if yes then do be aware that some of us have issues with soy)

If you are in the early stages of healing this salad may be too much roughage for you. I had lots of issues with lettuce for a long time. I still make my 'salads' using only fresh raw veggies but no lettuce most times.

[Jestgar]

Do you eat the skin of the chicken? In my Costco the bakery is right next to where they prep the chickens.....

[i-geek]

The chicken sends up red flags for me. Sure, they don't use gluten ingredients, but all it takes is one worker to be careless that day and that batch is CCed. If you can, cook up a few chicken breasts at home and use those to top your salads.

[StephanieGF]

The chicken seems most suspect to me too. Also, it sounds like you have been eating this salad for a while and the problem started recently, and the chicken is the item most likely to change easily, someone different cooking/handling them, issues being near the bakery, maybe a new seasoning without the label changing. (I know something like that should not happen, but things do.)

Other thing might be an old wood salad bowl or cutting boards? I don't know. Sometimes fish can be canned in a broth that might have barely or something in it?

[sickchick]

All salad is bad for me. My body hates raw veggies. Within minutes I am in the bathroom.

Hope you figure it out, Doll!

lovelove

sickchick

[ynot]

Thanks for all the ideas everybody.

I really hope it's not a CC issue because that would mean I've got bring a whole new level of careful to this diet. Everybody I know already rolls their eyes at me. So, simply because it would be so inconvenient, I'm going to ignore the CC possibility until everything else is ruled out. ( I do use an old cutting board )

The vinegar should be safe (no caramel color ). The sardines in water should also be safe. I eat the costco chicken ( with skin sometimes ) without issue with other meals.

It hadn't occurred to me it could be too much roughage. I guess I'll have a partial answer tomorrow. I'm planning on making a big salad with only the meats and olive oil.

[missceliac2010]

Trader Joe's Balsamic Vinegar

I heard/read somewhere that Trader Joe's Balsamic Vinegar is all bad. We actually went out and bought their "Trader Joe's White Vinegar" because my bf read that the caramel coloring in the regular balsamic was glutened.

That's my idea. He made a salad for me Saturday night with the TJ's White Vinegar and I was fine.

That's my honest opinion!

TJ'S balsamic is all bad!

[Juliebove]

The old cutting board could be the issue. I still use mine, but... I do all of my cutting/chopping on a paper plate with the board underneath. For cutting salad, I bought a pair of salad scissors so I can cut right in the bowl.

[ynot]

To clarify the vinegar is "White Balsamic Vinegar" from Trader Joe's. The two listed ingredients are white wine vinegar and concentrated grape must.

Hmmm....it doesn't seem to be listed on Trader Joe's no gluten list.

Salad scissors! Good idea.

[Frances03]

I disagree with the massive amounts of "blame the chicken!" posts. I trust Costco. You cannot mistrust EVERYTHING and EVERYONE or life is not really worth living. If Costco has gone to all the trouble to label their chicken gluten free, I believe them. I eat it all the time and I've not have problems, and my blood test results have dropped in to the normal range. I think the idea of too much roughage is a good one, you might explore that and see what happens. Good luck!

[i-geek]

I disagree with the massive amounts of "blame the chicken!" posts. I trust Costco. You cannot mistrust EVERYTHING and EVERYONE or life is not really worth living. If Costco has gone to all the trouble to label their chicken gluten free, I believe them. I eat it all the time and I've not have problems, and my blood test results have dropped in to the normal range. I think the idea of too much roughage is a good one, you might explore that and see what happens. Good luck!

Lots of things are labeled gluten-free in restaurants or stores, but all it takes is a careless employee that day, someone who doesn't understand what gluten-free means, or an unannounced ingredient supplier change to mess that up- even if 99% of the time things are fine. I've been glutened at restaurants when I've ordered from the gluten-free menu. If the OP has been eating this way for some time with no problems and all of a sudden has problems, one has to look at the obvious things first.

[ynot]

So, today I had a salad of greens, chicken, sardines, and olive oil only. Stomach aches are back. I imagine it is the roughage. I don't understand though. Why now?

Thanks again and I'll update the thread if I learn something new.

[sandsurfgirl]

Maybe you need to eat something at breakfast time. I wonder if salad as your first meal of the day is being hard on your digestive system.

Sometimes our celiac guts just get wonky on us for no reason too. Lots of us will have bouts of tummy issues where we cannot find any source of gluten. Then it just disappears as quickly as it came.

When that happens and I can't find the source I don't rack my brain about it. This life is hard enough. You've looked at every possible thing.

[ravenwoodglass]

So, today I had a salad of greens, chicken, sardines, and olive oil only. Stomach aches are back. I imagine it is the roughage. I don't understand though. Why now?

Thanks again and I'll update the thread if I learn something new.

Drop the chicken and sardines and see what happens.

[jerseyangel]

Based on personal experience, I would say it's the lettuce/raw veggies. I've actually lost my ability to handle salad--I get D every time within a few hours. Just D, then I'm fine--I think it's just too much for me now I don't know why, exactly, but after going gluten-free, some of us (well, me anyway) see changes in how we tolerate other foods--not just gluten.

Maybe lay off salads for a while until your system settles down and then try one again if you want--that should tell you.

[ynot]

Drop the chicken and sardines and see what happens.

Exactly what I was planning. I'll let you know.

Maybe you need to eat something at breakfast time. I wonder if salad as your first meal of the day is being hard on your digestive system.

That's an interesting thought. I often don't eat breakfast, although I've been trying to. I guess it's a combination of not being that hungry and of liking the feeling of a flat empty stomach. Ok, that's another experiment I'll have to run.

[sandsurfgirl]

Exactly what I was planning. I'll let you know.

That's an interesting thought. I often don't eat breakfast, although I've been trying to. I guess it's a combination of not being that hungry and of liking the feeling of a flat empty stomach. Ok, that's another experiment I'll have to run.

Ha ha! I like a flat empty stomache too. I find the most palatable breakfast for me is fruit and some egg whites or other protein like lean ham. I do eat gluten free pancakes or toast here and there but it does make me feel sluggish and at times bloated.